If we are at the beginnings of the development and especially the adoption of these virtual reality and augmented reality headsets, demand seems increasingly strong for this type of product, both on the commercial side and on the side of the general public. :
Shipping volume of VR / AR headsets worldwide 2016-2021
Source: Statista
The limits to augmented and virtual reality
This virtual world will have to agree with an appropriate orientation of the individual who evolves in real time as he moves (in full virtual immersion). A security perimeter will then have to be considered. The differences between the real world experienced by the body and the virtual world experienced by the mind can also lead to the harm of virtual reality. When we know that some people do not support 3D glasses in the cinema, we will have to hang on with our immersive computer headset.
A 100% immersive virtual reality seems complicated. Conjugating the body in our real world and our mind in a virtual world seems, for the time being, to be a digital utopia. On the other hand, a mixed reality where virtual elements are inserted in our physical world is already much more possible. Microsoft is currently turning to these mixed realities, but with Microsoft Mesh, the American company could change dimension.
On the way to a metaverse oligopoly?
Horizon Workroom from Meta had better watch out. Microsoft’s Teams collaborative platform will soon offer an immersive version in a virtual world “Safe and scalable”. Called “Microsoft Mesh”, it will allow individuals to present themselves in the form of digital holograms of themselves all around the globe. Obviously, it will be necessary to acquire a technological arsenal (including the helmets mentioned above) to be able to experience the “full-experience ” (complete experience in French).
A holoportation strategy that seems far removed from current realities. A multidimensional world that asks a lot of questions. Should we let an oligopoly of companies, now champions of the marketing of personal data, have control over our future virtual identity? What about the safety and ethics aspect? How to avoid a hyper-concentration of private entities who want to reinvent today’s Internet? Although Super Zucker claims that its metaverse will be open, collaborative and interoperable while being regulated by different stakeholders including governments, we may have some concerns. Respect for privacy is, and will be, a crucial issue in the technologies used across the metaverse.
Sony, Apple, Meta, Samsung, Google, Amazon, Microsoft… A myriad of tech companies are embarking on the deep end of the virtual and augmented reality sector with, as we can imagine, the metaverse in the background . The CEO of Meta has probably kicked the anthill by renaming the company Facebook. The Metaverse for all in the sights? Probably. If this virtual world is potentially possible, it is thanks to recent technological advances: virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital currencies, 5G, dynamic imagery, the development of 3D, e-commerce … If the GAMAM (formerly GAFAM) always come to mind when we talk about new technologies, other projects linked directly or indirectly to this new world are underway: Tencent (Epics Games: Fortnite and Fall Guys); Roblox; Ubisoft (Quartz); Animoca Brands (Aurory and Sandbox); Ali Baba (Ali Metaverse, Taobao Metaverse, Ding Ding Metaverse); ByteDance (Pico); Huawei (Perfect World); Nvidia (Omniverse) among others. Count on me to focus very soon on these different actors in order to better understand the evolutions, sometimes unimaginable, of these heavyweights of the tech.
To discover other players, sometimes less valued, find our three thematic lists:
Thematic list: Metaverse
Thematic list: Blockchain
Thematic list: Artificial intelligence